The Sociology of Educational Datafication: Power, Surveillance, and Inequality in Digital Higher Education
Abstract
The expansion of digital technologies in higher education has led to the emergence of datafication — the process by which educational practices and human behaviors are transformed into quantifiable data. While datafication promises efficiency, transparency, and evidence-based decision-making, it also introduces critical ethical and sociological challenges related to surveillance, power, and inequality. This literature-based study explores educational datafication through the theoretical perspectives of Michel Foucault’s disciplinary power, Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of capital and social reproduction, and Neil Selwyn’s critique of digital education. By synthesizing studies published between 2018 and 2025, this research highlights how datafication has reshaped academic autonomy, intensified digital surveillance, and reproduced social hierarchies in higher education. The paper argues that understanding datafication as a sociological phenomenon not merely a technological innovation is essential for developing critical digital ethics and equitable governance in academia.
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